l
the silver and gold to be found in the castle, and she set out with Ian
the soldier's son for the house where her second sister was waiting to
see what would befall. She also had asses laden with precious things to
carry away, and so had the eldest sister, when they reached the castle
where she had been kept a prisoner. Together they all rode to the edge
of the rock, and then Ian lay down and shouted, and the basket was drawn
up, and in it they got one by one, and were let down to the bottom. When
the last one was gone, Ian should have gone also, and left the three
sisters to come after him; but he had forgotten the raven's warning, and
bade them go first, lest some accident should happen. Only, he begged
the youngest sister to let him keep the little gold cap which, like the
others, she wore on her head; and then he helped them, each in her turn,
into the basket.

Long he waited, but wait as he might, the basket never came back, for
in their joy at being free the knight's daughters had forgotten all
about Ian, and had set sail in the ship that had brought him and his
brothers to the land of Grianaig.

At last he began to understand what had happened to him, and while he
was taking counsel with himself what had best be done, the raven came to
him.

'You did not heed my words,' he said gravely.

'No, I did not, and therefore am I here,' answered Ian, bowing his head.

'The past cannot be undone,' went on the raven. 'He that will not take
counsel will take combat. This night, you will sleep in the giant's
castle. And now you shall give me a piece of tobacco.'

'I will. But, I pray you, stay in the castle with me.'

'That I may not do, but on the morrow I will come.'

And on the morrow he did, and he bade Ian go to the giant's stable where
stood a horse to whom it mattered nothing if she journeyed over land or
sea.

'But be careful,' he added, 'how you enter the stable, for the door
swings without ceasing to and fro, and if it touches you, it will cause
you to cry out. I will go first and show you the way.'

'Go,' said Ian. And the raven gave a bob and a hop, and thought he
was quite safe, but the door slammed on a feather of his tail, and he
screamed loudly.

Then Ian took a run backwards, and a run forwards, and made a spring;
but the door caught one of his feet, and he fell fainting on the stable
floor. Quickly the raven pounced on him, and picked him up in his beak
and claws, and carried him back to th